The Sorcerer's Stone: Rumors of Hogwarts
by Sapphic Peach
Summary: Not everyone at Hogwarts wanted to be heroes like the Golden Trio- some were just excited to go to school. Follow characters who existed much more in the background of the famous Harry Potter's story, as they get into their own sort of mischief.
1. To Diagon Alley, Of Course!

**A/N: This all came from a small idea between two friends who got way too carried away and ended up needing a fic to go along with it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, not sure why I have to state this. I do, however, own Rosie, Elladora, and their families in collaboration with a friend.**

1\. TO DIAGON ALLEY, OF COURSE!

Nearly a week had passed since young Rosalie Sweeding had received her letter informing her that she was to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but only today had the words within the letter finally seemed real. Her home had been made spotless in preparation for the Professor who was arriving at her home in order to escort her to Diagon Alley, an offer given to students who had never been apart of the magical world, so that someone with experience could help them figure things out. While Rosie worked on dishing out food for her two younger siblings, she couldn't help but occasionally glance out the window hopefully, looking out for a person approaching their doorstep.

"Maybe no one's coming." Her older brother D.J. teased, swaggering up behind her to steal one of the french rolls that she had set to the side.

Rosie frowned, smacking his hand away lightly, "Declan and Ryley are patiently waiting at the table, why can't you?" she asked him, ignoring his jab.

The younger siblings of the family, twins with dark hair and dark eyes to match their skin, looked up from the table groggily upon hearing their names. Neither were very pleased to be up at the early hour, but both insisted they wished to be up to see the person coming from 'the magic school'. D.J. shrugged, unfazed by the younger one's frowns, "I'm the eldest, fairly certain that means I get served first."

Rosie rolled her eyes, but did not protest any further as D.J. scooped some eggs and sausage into his roll. Things between she and her older brother had been fairly tense since she'd been accepted into Hogwarts, he wasn't very pleased that she was going off to a fancy school for magic while he remained at home, attending to a normal, magic-free life. Rosie felt guilty for it, but she tried not to show this, knowing full well that D.J. would only use the guilt to his advantage.

Once he had stepped aside, Rosie finished up on filling the french rolls for the other two, only just setting the plates in front of the twins as a ring of the doorbell sounded through the house. Rosie tried to stay calm, resisting the urge to rush in front of her mother, who was making her way rather slowly to the door. The siblings no longer seemed interested in the food they'd been waiting for, all four of the Sweeding children tilting their heads toward the left of the table to get a better view of the Professor.

The man certainly wasn't what anyone had been expecting. He stood out quite blatantly, especially against Rosie's mother, who fit the bill of 'normal' quite spot-on. He looked much younger than any Professor they had ever seen, and his skin looked to be as white as a sheet in contrast with his burgundy robes and turban. The room had become quite silent, all the siblings staring adamantly at the man. Rosie's mother seemed at a loss for words as well, looking up and down the man's figure a few times.

"You must be our Rosalie's Professor." Rosie's grandmother's voice cut into the silence, not seeming to hold anything other than a casual tone as the older, dark skinned woman crossed the room from the stairs. Rosie wondered if it was due to her grandmother's vision worsening that the woman didn't seem to hold any interest in the man's odd appearance.

"Y-y-yes, ma'am. I am Quirinus Q-Q-Quirrell, P-P-Professor at Hogwarts." he stammered, stepping inside to grasp the welcoming hand of greeting that Rosie's grandmother offered. "W-w-which one would be h-h-her?"

D.J., Ryley, and Declan snapped their heads in the direction of Rosalie, "I'm Rosalie, Professor." she introduced.

Professor Quirrell removed his hand from Rosie's grandmother, crossing the room to shake hands with the eleven-year-old girl as well, "P-P-P-Pleasure." he stammered, and Rosie noted that his hand's were quite clammy. Rosie wondered why he was so nervous, but felt it would be quite impolite to ask, so she kept her mouth shut. "D-D-Do you have your l-list of s-s-s-supplies?" Rosie nodded and the man smiled, though the expression looked quite odd as it didn't meet his eyes, "G-g-g-great, than we can leave at any-anytime."

"Oh, there's no rush." Rosie's mother assured, crossing over to the kitchen to pull out a chair for the man, "Certainly you would like to stay for breakfast."

The Professor's eye twitched with what looked to almost be a sort of irritation, and he shook his head quickly, "N-no need, I-I-I ate q-q-quite a big one myself before c-c-coming here." the man chuckled nervously, glancing back over in Rosie's direction, "The q-q-quicker we s-s-set off the better. Diagon Alley is q-q-q-quite busy this c-c-close to the school year."

All of Rosie's nerves that had came with the Professor's entrance faded away with the mention of Diagon Alley, as her mind trailed to the fantastical items on her school list. "He's right, we better get going." she agreed quickly, grabbing the small messenger bag she'd packed for the trip off of the counter, practically bouncing with her newfound excitement.

"Well alright..." Rosie's mother trailed off, looking a bit nervous. Rosie's mother had been having a bit of trouble getting used to the idea of her daughter's rapidly approaching departure, and this trip felt like a test-run for her daughter leaving home. The Sweeding's had always been such a close-knit family, imagining one gone for most of the year was almost as painful as when they'd had one leave permanently.

Rosie's mother extended her arms, and Rosie gratefully accepted the tight hug and kiss on the top of her head from her mother. Soon, her siblings joined in, squeezes against her knees received from the younger one's, and a ruffle of her hair from D.J. Followed by one last hug from her grandmother. Rosie felt a bit more emotional than she had anticipated, tears pricking at her eyes. She worried slightly how much leaving them for so long was going to hurt if it was this painful to go off for the day without seeing them.

"Alright." Rosie stated once she'd pulled away from her family, her voice a bit shaky from the threatening tears, "I'm ready to go, sir."

Professor Quirrell nodded, "I will bring your daughter back home safely by the end of the day." he informed them, beginning to lead the young girl toward the front door.

"Hey, Rose!"

Rosie stopped in her tracks, just as she'd had a foot out the door, turning back in the direction of her older brother's voice.

"Don't forget to bring us back something cool from the magic shops!" He called, the younger siblings cheered in agreement with this.

Rosie grinned back at her family one last time, "Of course, I'd never forget you guys."

* * *

The trip had been rather silent, consisting of a rather long train ride in the underground station- a process that seemed to confuse the Professor. Rosie had only been to London a few times in her life, and she'd been far too young to remember much from any of them. It was quite plain to her, however, that London didn't seem to hold any out of the ordinary items that were listed in her letter. She'd wanted to ask questions, but the rather determined, straight-forward look Quirrell had as they walked down the streets intimidated her into backing down every time. With all the silence, the sudden question from the Professor surprised her.

"How did your family f-f-feel about the l-letter?"

Rosie turned her head up to him and away from the endless line of shops she had been staring at, it took her a moment to register what was asking, "They were surprised. My family never knew about magic..." she trailed slightly, before quickly adding, "But they were very proud."

Quirrell nodded, seeming to consider the words, "Y-y-yes, yes. They were m-m-muggles." he murmured as if he were talking to somebody other than her.

"I'm sorry?" she asked, tilting her head with confusion in response to the word 'muggle'. She'd never heard the term before.

"M-m-muggles." Quirrell repeated, "A t-t-term used by m-magical folk to describe the n-n-non-magical ones." he looked over Rosie, something resembling amusement seeming to cross his features before he added, "You are a m-m-muggleborn, meaning you have n-n-no m-m-magic in your b-b-blood."

"Oh." Rosie replied dumbly, processing the information.

The question and conversation seemed rather odd, and was followed again by silence, though much more uncomfortable this time. It also had left Rosie with more questions to plague her mind. It took ten long minutes of hard concentration not to blurt any of the inquiries out, only for them to fall out of her mind completely when she spotted the first thing in London to really stand out to her. A quite small, grimy pub right between two rather normal shops- despite how odd it looked, no one seemed to notice it. In fact, Rosie herself might not have if the Professor hadn't slowed down once they'd neared it.

The sign hanging from the building was in the shape of a leaking cauldron, though rather faded, to represent the name: the Leaky Cauldron. Rosie might have stood their for quite a while just to study the outside if Quirrell hadn't set a hand on her shoulder, ushering her into the dark tavern. It was even more run-down on the inside, people spread quite sparsely within it. The largest crowd was located in front of the bar, a circle of people surrounding something or someone too small to see.

"S-s-should I say something?" Quirrell muttered to no one in particular, then nodded to himself, gesturing for Rosie to stay put as he strode across the floor over to the crowd. She stared after him for a moment, before her attention turned instead to a group talking around a table, their eyes constantly glancing over to the part of the bar the Professor was now at.

"I think that's Harry Potter." said one.

"What?" another hissed back, "The famous Potter?"

"I'm sure of it. That's the scar You-Know-Who gave him on his forehead."

"Are you absolutely certain?"

"How many boys with lightning bolt scars do you know?"

"Well, then we should go introduce ourselves!"

Rosie watched after the group as they ushered over to the area they'd been watching so closely, feeling more confused than before. If she hadn't been told to stay put, she'd have crossed the room with the rest of them to get a better look at what they were all so excited about.

Rosie watched the other side of the room anxiously, feeling as if she'd been waiting forever. A green eyed, messy haired boy who looked to be her age caught her stare and she smiled quickly, her face flushing with embarrassment. The boy looked slightly taken aback, but returned the smile briskly before he was forced to return to paying attention to the rest of the crowd. Finally, a man far bigger than anyone else in the group clasped a hand around green eyes shoulder, announcing rather loudly that they needed to be on their way, and hurrying the boy away from the rest.

Professor Quirrell returned to Rosie's side, his eyes still focused on watching the boy leaved. "Professor Quirrell, who is Harry Potter?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

The Professor raised an eyebrow and scoffed as if she had made a silly joke, "C-c-come. We have th-things to do." He told her, leading them out in the same direction the giant and the younger boy had gone, making no attempt to answer her question. The curiosity still burned inside of Rosie, though the reaction she'd received discouraged her from pressing any further toward the subject.

When they exited from the bar, Rosie took a moment to adjust to the sudden change in lighting. The outside seemed far brighter than it had before, and she believed her eyes were out of focus still for a short moment when she became aware of the solid brick wall in front of them. After a few seconds of staring at it, she looked to Quirrell, hoping for an explanation she was fairly sure she wouldn't receive from him. Not returning her gaze, the Professor stepped forward, moving around the two trash cans set out and pulling out his wand, causing a jolt of excitement to rush through Rosie. He tapped the wall with his wand in strategic places, and within an instant, the bricks withdrew into one another, and parted to reveal a large archway that welcomed them into a whole new world.

Despite the last week that she'd spent trying to desperately to picture what the magical world would be like, nothing she could ever have dreamed of came close to the actual amazement she felt when looking upon Diagon Alley. She wished she could have taken more time just to stand right where she was and memorize every last detail of it all, but she found that Quirrell wasn't experiencing the same feeling, the Professor already a few strides ahead of her. She quickly scurried after.

Quirrell had been right about Diagon Alley being busy, everywhere Rosie looked she could see families, and kids around her age scattered about, carrying various bags of supplies for school. Toward the front of the alley was a shop with hundreds of cauldrons on display, all various makes and colors with fancy titles that she didn't quite understand; she could hear a few kids talking animatedly to each other about which were the 'best', though they all seemed wonderful. Another large group was crowded around a shop Rosie thought to be similar to a hobby shop in the muggle world, kids of all ages were shouting about something called the 'Nimbus 2000'. Rosie watched in wonder as a boy walked by with an owl on his shoulder that nibbled at his ear.

Rosie was startled by a sudden, cold touch, looking up to see Quirrell looking down at her, "It's all q-q-quite exciting, is it n-n-not?" he asked, though he seemed a bit annoyed, "However, we n-n-need t-t-to get going i-i-i-if we want to get you h-h-home in g-good time. Take out your letter, p-p-please."

Rosie complied with this, though she was quite certain she'd had the list memorized from all the times she'd read it over, taking the well-loved letter out of her bag. She'd hardly let go of it when she'd gotten it, the edges of the envelope crinkled from her tight grip, and the fresh ink addressing it to her had been smudged underneath her thumb. She pulled out the list gently.

"Robes are at the t-t-top of the l-l-list so we m-may want t-t-to do that f-f-first." Quirrell suggested, looking at the list over her shoulder, "Th-though cauldrons are r-right t-t-there-"

"I'd like to get my wand first." She interrupted, her voice rather firm and sure of her answer. This had been the item on the list she'd been most excited for, she'd spent hours imagining herself holding one in her hand, the ability to cast spells right at their fingertips. She felt that the moment she had her wand, it would all become official. The strange events that had occurred around her since she was a child would no longer be happenstances, but have a definite cause: magic. And after seeing Quirrell's wand only moments ago, she was even more certain that this item would surely be one of the most important.

"Y-y-yes, t-t-to the wand shop, th-then." the Professor agreed, leading her through the alley. Rosie paid extra attention to the shops as she passed them, she could see that many of the older kids were wearing scarves of the same colors divided between the four corners of the crest on the front of her Hogwarts letter. She found that the 'Nimbus 2000' she had overheard conversation about happened to be a shining broomstick. She remembered a note on the letter about first years being unable to bring their own broomsticks, making her curious as to what the students wanted them for in the first place. She certainly couldn't see herself caring much about having one, she had a terrible fear of heights.

Professor Quirrell stopped toward the very end of the alley, in front of a very old shop that reminded her of the few times she'd joined her mother while antique shopping. The sign for the store- Ollivander's- was hardly legible on the sign that seemed to have endured years of fading.

"I-I-I will get your b-b-books in order." Quirrell told her, "You can handle a b-b-bit of t-t-time alone while I do a f-f-few things, c-c-can't you?"

Rosie took a moment to pull her eyes away from the eerie shop in order to the nod, thanking the Professor for his help and handing over some of the cash her mother had converted into money used by the wizards, before the two parted ways. She set into the store, surprised to find that it was even dustier than the pub had been. The place seemed to weigh down those inside it with the magical ambiance that seeped through the cracks of groups of long boxes stacked on top of one another. The place was silent to a point of being stiff, apart from the tiptoe of another girl ahead of her. The girl looked to be her age, and judging by the way she examined each wand a bit nervously, Rosie assumed that she was a first year as well.

Before she could really think about it, Rosie stood on her tiptoes to look over the girl's shoulder, "Are you a first year, too?" she asked, hoping to confirm her suspicion.

The other, taller girl jumped at the voice, turning around quickly and laughing nervously, "Uh, yeah, I am." she answered, gaining confidence in her voice as a grin formed on her face, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, what about you?"

Rosie's face brightened at her chance to make a friend before she arrived at school. "Me too!" she exclaimed, holding out her hand, "I'm Rosie Sweeding, nice to meet you."

The other girl returned the handshake rather firmly, "Elladora Weatherwax." she replied, "My dad's over buying some books- he's a wizard, he went to our school. Meanwhile, I'm here looking for a wand."

Rosie was amazed just considering the concept of having a magical parent, this girl must have grown up knowing all about the magical world. "I'm hoping to get a wand too." Rosie explained, "My parents are non-magical, though. A professor escorted me here to help."

"Oh really! Which professor?" Elladora asked, "My dad has told me all about the ones he could."

"Professor Quirrell." Rosie answered.

"Ah, he's pretty young, right? My dad doesn't know much about him. I think he said that he used to teach Muggle Studies- but he's Defense Against the Dark Arts now." Elladora rambled, "Neither class was very interesting to my dad, though. He's a healer, you see, so he always focused more on herbology or potions-"

Elladora must have noticed that Rosie had gotten lost, because she slowed her talking toward the end and smiled sheepishly. Elladora opened her mouth to speak again, but shut it again, her eyes moving to something behind Rosie.

"Hello, children." Rosie flinched, not expecting the sudden voice, and whirled around in the direction of it. A very old man stood over the two, eyeing them.

"Hello." Elladora and Rosie both responded, their voices quite shaky as they worked on recovering from the shock of his sudden voice.

"Ah, Ms. Weatherwax, I wondered when another one of you would walk through my doors." The man drawled. "Your father was a good wizard- odd he married a muggle." Elladora looked a bit frustrated with the comment, struggling to keep herself from saying anything back. "However, I knew he would produce a magical child, no matter. His wand was a good one: Rowan wood, eleven inches, unicorn hair. All wonderful."

The man's eyes trailed over to Rosie, and she felt as if her blood had turned to ice. The way he studied her made her feel rather worried that he could read her mind.

"I do not know you, however. Which must mean that you are not of magical lineage, correct?" Rosie couldn't form words, so instead she only nodded in response. "Very well. It's not to worry over, plenty of great witches and wizards were not of pureblood lineage- despite what they'd like you to believe."

Rosie wasn't sure what he was talking about, but didn't have any courage to ask. Instead, she and Elladora just watched as the man began to shift through the piles of wands.

Rosie and Elladora tried a few different wands that they were handed, most with disastrous results. Elladora had knocked quite a few things over in her attempts to perform magic, though at the very least she seemed to know what the process was about. Rosie, on the other hand, felt rather dumb waving a wand, and she was glad that D.J. wasn't here, knowing how amused he would be by this. The wand was doing magic, sure, but nothing like she had pictured. Instead, she'd ended up blasting things across the room (almost smacking the old man with a tape measurer in the process).

Elladora tried yet another wand- pear wood with phoenix feather core, as Rosie had heard the man say, but he snatched this one out of her hand before she'd even managed to flick it. He replaced it quickly with another wand, and Rosie noticed the change in Elladora's expression the moment it touched her palm. When she flicked the wand, it didn't cause any sort of troublesome results. It sparked like a light show, illuminated by a beautiful shade of blue.

Rosie clapped, excited for the other girl, and the older man joined in. "Yew wood and unicorn hair, a rather odd combination." the man told her, "A bit contradictory in its reactions to dark magic, but certainly a wand meant for someone with a protective heart."

Elladora beamed as the man helped her package her wand up, taking the galleons she'd placed on the counter. Once he finished, he went to the back of the shop, telling Rosie to stay put while he looked for the perfect one.

Rosie took a breath, trying to regain the confidence she'd lost from trying out so many wands. "Maybe it was a series of coincidences." she murmured under her breath.

"What was?" Elladora inquired, looking to Rosie with curiosity.

"My 'magic'." Rosie emphasized her sarcasm with air quotes, "Maybe I don't actually have any. My mother always assumed the odd things that would happen were just accidents."

Elladora shook her head, "Nah, they wouldn't make a mistake like that. You're only on the list if you have magic." she assured Rosie, smiling brightly, "And besides, there's no way those were accidents- well, they were, but they were magical accidents. It happens to all young witches and wizards, especially when we're scared or angry."

Elladora's explanation made a few things clearer, and Rosie couldn't help but feel her spirits rise in response to the other girl's enthusiasm. As the older man stepped back out to their area, Rosie took a deep breath, feeling much more confident. Elladora grinned, and shot her a thumbs up from the side.

As the wand was placed in Rosie's hand, she understood why Elladora's expression had changed so suddenly when she'd been given the right wand. Rosie's palm was touched by a rather extreme warmth, and the flick of her hand felt much more natural as white whisks of light flew out from the tip of her wand.

Elladora clapped as Rosie had, and the older man seemed to smile crookedly. "Interesting, very interesting."

"What is interesting?" Rosie asked, looking up at the man as she approached the counter to pay for her wand.

"Elm wood, typically it is only used by purebloods, they would hate to hear it has chosen a muggleborn." the old man chuckled, a rather dark sound, obviously taking pleasure in this, "The wood will pair rather nicely with the unicorn hair core, however. Great things a wand and a wizard can do together."

Rosie was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable, and she was happy to quickly set eight galleons out for him, then quickly make her way out of the shop, Elladora at her side.

* * *

With some unspoken pact, Rosie and Elladora had made a decision to do their shopping together. Neither minded this, both were rather relieved to have company.

"Maybe Madam Malkin's next? We'll need our robe sets." Elladora suggested. Both young witches had been looking down at their lists as they walked, considering where they should stop next. Rosie nodded, happy to have a suggestion as she followed Elladora into a shop.

The store had a welcoming smell to it, much more light and open than any of the ones that Rosie had been in today. Robes of all sizes and colors were hung about.

A short witch with a beaming face who Rosie supposed to be Madam Malkin turned from the clothes she'd been hanging, "Hello, girls. You must be Hogwarts students, quite a few are coming through today." she gestured forward, "Two young men are in the back getting measured if you would like to join."

Rosie and Elladora nodded, traveling through the rows of robes to get to the back of the shop. Two stools were placed side by side; one holding a pointy-faced, pale, blonde boy, the other holding the messy haired, green eyed boy Rosie had seen at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Merlin's Beard- that's Harry Potter." Elladora hissed out excitedly, gripping Rosie's arm rather tightly. There was that name again, Rosie frowned with confusion.

"Hogwarts, too?" the blonde boy interrupted, looking from the messy haired boy over the two girls with a rather careless demeanor.

"Yep!" Elladora answered, though her eyes were focused on the green eyed boy- Rosie assumed that he must have been Harry Potter.

"Interesting." the blonde gestured to the darker haired boy. "We were just talking about broomsticks and Quidditch. Do either of you play?"

Rosie stared back at the blonde blankly, relieved to find that the other boy seemed to be just as dumbfounded as her in response to the subject. Elladora, however, dove right in, "I had my first broomstick when I was three- a toy one, of course. My dad says I was born to play."

"Yes, well, we'll see." The blonde replied, not looking very impressed. "I plan on playing for Slytherin. I'm certain I'll get in, father says it'll be a crime if I don't."

"Aren't you a first year?" Elladora raised an eyebrow, "There's no way to know for sure that you'll be in Slytherin."

"Well, no. But all my family has, I see no reason why I won't." the boy drawled out, he looked over to the three with a cocked eyebrow, "Which house do you think you'll get into?"

Rosie and the dark haired boy shared uncomfortable looks, neither knowing how to respond to the question. Elladora, however, grinned confidently, "Well, my father was a Slytherin." the blonde looked taken aback by this. "But he's always said that I have Hufflepuff in my veins."

"Hufflepuff?" the blonde scoffed, and Elladora's grin faded, "I think I'd leave."

"The important thing is that we all get to go to a magic school." Rosie cut in, knowing the look of two who were about to argue well enough from having three other siblings.

Elladora smiled over at Rosie, but the blonde narrowed his eyes, "You looked rather confused by my questions." he noted, "Your parents don't have any wizard blood, do they?"

Rosie frowned, not certain what that had to do with anything. "No, they don't."

The blonde smirked, amused by this, "A muggleborn, then. I'm surprised they let your sort in."

Elladora stepped forward, almost as tall as the boy on the stool, "What's wrong with her being a muggleborn?"

"Well, they're just not as competent in this world the way we are." the blonde said firmly, "They shouldn't be taught. That's what father says."

"Your father is-"

"Girls." Madam Malkin's voice interrupted, "If you would come with me, I'll get you two fitted right away."

Rosie nodded, thanking the witch as she pulled Elladora after Madam Malkin. Elladora turned her head toward the boys, giving one last, long glare to the blonde boy.

* * *

"So Harry Potter-" Before Rosie had any opportunity to question, Elladora interrupted.

"Bit of an odd one, isn't he? I expected someone so famous to be a bit more talkative. Though I guess it'd be hard to hear anything over that blonde boy, he really did like the sound of his own voice." Elladora stuffed the candy-spun quill she had purchased along the way to the next shop back into her mouth. She seemed to notice the confusion on Rosie's face after a while, however, "What is it?" she asked around the candy.

"Who-who is Harry Potter?" Rosie asked hesitantly, hoping she wouldn't receive the same response she'd gotten from the Professor.

"You don't know about Harry Potter?" Elladora asked, sounding rather shocked, "I guess they wouldn't teach muggles about it- but still… it's a part of history!" Rosie frowned, and Elladora took a breath and reworked her words, "Harry Potter was just a baby when a dark wizard killed his parents- but Harry came out of it with just a scar on his forehead!"

"There are dark wizards?" Rosie asked, feeling a bit uneasy about this.

"Well of course," Elladora said with a careless shrug, "Just like there are bad muggles."

"So, this dark wizard…?"

"You-Know-Who is what he's usually called around here. He did an awful lot of bad. Caused an entire war." Elladora frowned, seeming to mull over what she was saying in her mind before speaking. "People were terrified- they still are too afraid to say his name. Sometimes my dad doesn't even want to hear his nickname."

Rosie felt even more sick hearing this, and frantically looked for a way to change the subject, "So, um, what about Quidditch?"

Elladora's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the question, "You don't know about Quidditch!" she exclaimed, loud enough that people turned their heads. Rosie's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but Elladora didn't seem to notice, grabbing Rosie's wrist and quickly leading her through the crowds of people in the alley.

They found themselves in front of the 'Nimbus 2000' display that Rosie had seen earlier, Elladora's features seemed to sparkle with enthusiasm when she pressed her hands against the glass that contained the displayed broom. Rosie stepped up beside Elladora, looking a bit desperate for an explanation. "Isn't she beautiful..?" Elladora murmured.

"What exactly does this have to do with Quidditch?" Rosie asked, struggling a bit to pronounce the name.

"Quidditch is a sport of the wizarding world. It's played on a broomstick!"

Rosie didn't quite like the sound of that, not really enjoying the image of herself flying around in the sky either. Though she listened as best as she could to the complicated explanation of the sport Elladora was giving her as the taller girl continued to fawn over the broomstick. Eventually Rosie grew a bit tired of it though, and convinced the other girl that it was high time for a snack.

The two made their way to an ice cream parlor toward the front of the alley, taking a place in line between three boys. Twins with matching bright, ginger hair were speaking eagerly about a subject with a shorter, dark skinned boy. The conversation seemed to cease, however, when the three became aware of the two girls standing behind them.

One of the twins whirled around, his arms crossed, "Settle an argument for us, will you? Lee over here seems to think the Bulgarian Quidditch team is better than Ireland. Ridiculous, is it not?"

"Completely!" Elladora responded enthusiastically, taking Rosie a bit by surprise, "Ireland is better, by far!"

The twins cheered at this, and Rosie watched as the three immediately dove into a more complex discussion of Quidditch that she didn't understand. She was quite content to just admire how easily Elladora had managed to make conversation, enjoying the way all three of their faces lit up as they talked.

"Hold on!" Lee interrupted, pointing to Rosie, "What's your opinion on the matter?"

The boy seemed desperate for someone to be on his side, but Rosie gave an apologetic smile as she said, "I don't know much about Quidditch, but I was born in Ireland, so it only seems logical that I root for them…"

The twins roared with enthusiasm and Lee gave a rather dramatic sigh of defeat. One twin stepped forward, offering his hand to the girls as the other followed in suit, "I'm Fred, and this is my brother George. That traitor over there is Lee."

"Hey!"

Rosie grinned as she returned both of their handshake offerings, "Nice to meet you, Fred. George."

"I'm Elladora." Elladora introduced, gesturing to Rosie, "And this is my friend, Rosie." Despite the fact that the two had only known each other for a few hours, Rosie's heart filled with warmth at being referred to as a 'friend'.

"Are you two Hogwarts?" Lee asked as the man working the ice cream parlor handed out cones, the two girls nodded in response. "I figured with what you're carrying. First years, I'd supposed."

"We're Hogwarts as well." Fred explained with a grin, "Third years."

"Don't worry about being first years, though. You only have to face a troll, is all." Rosie desperately hoped George was kidding.

The five continued to speak happily together as they ate their ice cream. The three older boys offered kindly to lead the girls to get the last few items on their list, helping them pick out the best things at the best prices. Rosie had made them stop for quite a while at the cauldron shop, studying each one quite carefully despite being told that first years required a very specific one. She was giddy at the very idea of having her own cauldron and brewing potions like a witch in a book. Toward the end of their shopping, they found themselves looking at Quidditch supplies once again. Rosie heard another explanation of the sport from the twins who played, but she still was rather lost.

"Our job is to keep other teammates from getting knocked off their broomsticks." Fred explained when Rosie asked.

"That can happen? Why would anyone want to play!" Rosie squeaked, horrified by this. The twins' laughter only made Rosie's decision in her head that she didn't want to come near a broomstick more solidified.

When they walked out of the shop for sport's items, Rosie had to contain a loud squeal of excitement when she saw the back of a dark haired boy who was carrying a snowy owl. Reminded of the section on the letter that allowed students to have pets, Rosie dragged the other four to a pet shop.

"A frog, really?" George asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement as Elladora paid the shop owner.

"Frogs don't get enough love." Elladora said firmly, stroking the back of the frog as she set it in a terrarium.

"It's a little creepy, isn't it." Fred said, waving a finger in front of the small animal teasingly.

Elladora swatted his hand away, "She is an Amazon Milk frog! And her name is Cocoa!"

The twins chuckled with amusement, but Rosie found she no longer had the ability to listen to the conversation as she met eyes with an adorable, small, grey screech owl with the largest eyes she'd ever seen.

Her eyes began to fill with tears as she continued to keep the stare, "That's it!" she shouted suddenly, startling the others, "I love you!"

And so Rosie and Elladora ended up walking out of the store with the other three, both very happy with their new pets.

As the sky was beginning to darken, the three boys waved goodbye as they parted, the girls shouting their thanks for the help around Diagon Alley. The two girls had grown aware of how tired they were, their feet feeling heavy and their cheeks numbing from all they smiling they'd been doing. If this was how it was going to be at Hogwarts, Rosie was certain she couldn't wait any longer to be there. The two settled down on a bench in front of the book shop, awaiting the adults return.

"Hey." Elladora mumbled, breaking the pleasant silence that had settled between the two. She looked over to Rosie, "We'll sit beside each other on the train, won't we?"

Rosie smiled, surprised Elladora felt as if she had to ask, "Of course. There's no person I'd rather sit by."

"Good."

"Hey, Ellie?"

"Yeah?"

"I had a lot of fun today."

"Me too."

Both girls shared the last wide grin they were capable of, and just as they finished, Professor Quirrell emerged from the crowd. "M-Ms. Sweeding! I ap-p-polgize for g-g-getting s-s-seperated so long!" he shouted frantically as Rosie rose carefully from the bench, brushing herself off.

"It's no problem, Professor." Rosie assured, looking back at Elladora with a grin, "I wasn't alone."

The Professor took a breath of relief, "Y-y-yes well, g-g-good." he sighed, "Are you r-ready to r-r-return home?"

Rosie nodded, though she felt sad to part from her new friend. She hadn't thought it quite possible, but she wished to go to Hogwarts even more than she had during the days of reading her letter over and over again. She waved goodbye to Elladora and looked back for as long as she could at Diagon Alley while she followed behind Quirrell.


	2. All Aboard the Hogwarts Express!

**A/N: I'm back.**

2\. As Long as We're Together

King's Cross was rather crowded, filled to the brim with people, though none of them quite looked like the people Rosie had seen parading around Diagon Alley. Most were in suits or particularly fancy clothing, carrying large briefcases and looking like they had something quite important to do. They all looked at Rosie with odd looks, seeming disdainful of the out of place things she was pulling with her- specifically the cage holding Speaks. Rosie's mother was growing increasingly uncomfortable with this, used to a very normal upkeep, she didn't like appearing unsuitable to her surroundings.

"Are you certain it says platform nine and three-quarters, dear?" Ms. Sweeding inquired, glancing disbelievingly over her daughter's shoulder for the umpteenth time. Rosie sighed gently, beginning to lose her confidence as she flashed the ticket into her mother's view.

Rosie was thankful that the twins had saved some of the sugar quills she'd purchased for them from Diagon Alley, their attention focused on happily letting them dissolve on their tongues rather than complaining about how much walking they had been doing. D.J., however, was too old to be distracted by such simple things and scoffed dramatically every so often as they walked to indicate how impatient he was feeling.

"There's no platform nine and three-quarters, sis." D.J. drawled, making no attempt to hide the smirk of satisfaction on his face. "We should just give up and go home, you can go to that lovely academy for girls mom suggested-"

"Your rather quick to dismiss things you can't see, you know that?" Rosie replied, frowning in her brother's direction. "I showed you all the things from Diagon Alley, you've seen me do my accidental magic- what more proof do you need that this stuff is real?"

D.J. glared, though he made no further attempt to comment on the matter. His eyes lifted, spotting something up ahead that caused the smug smile to form back on his features, "Maybe that weird girl up there can help."

Rosie followed his line of sight, spotting the girl with incredibly bright blue hair. The girl was walking beside two others, who appeared to be her parents. Rosie felt her heart skip a beat when she realized that the girl was lugging a trunk behind her, similar to Rosie's own. Without a word, Rosie increased her pace to catch up with the girl and her family.

"It's always most crowded on this day." Rosie could hear the man saying, "With this many people we'll need to be careful crossing into platform nine and three-quarters-"

Rosie shot D.J. a triumphant look, receiving an eye roll in response. "Excuse me!" Rosie called out to the family.

The older man and woman were the first to turn around, Rosie felt her breath catch in her throat when the blue haired girl spun around to meet her gaze.

"Rosie! It's you!" The blue haired girl- now known to be Elladora, exclaimed. She rushed over, wrapping Rosie in a tight hug.

"Your hair!" Rosie wheezed out with what breath she could manage through the tight squeeze.

Elladora pulled away from the embrace, giving her blue locks a casual flip, "Well, with the first day and all, I felt the need to go all out! At first I attempted it with magic- didn't go so well." Elladora shot the older woman beside her a giant grin, "So my mom decided we'd do things the muggle way. We bought some hair dye and voila!"

"Well it looks wonderful." Rosie complemented, looking over her hair once more with admiration. "Oh!" she gasped in realization, noticing the curious looks her family were giving Elladora. "Ellie, this is my family."

"I didn't need you to tell me that. You all look so alike!" Elladora said, kneeling down to meet eyes with the twins. She murmured something to them under their breath about sugar quills, causing the two to burst into giggles. While Elladora kept them entertained, being watched by an apparently irritated D.J., Rosie's mother and grandmother took the opportunity to exchange introductions with Elladora's parents.

"You don't know platform nine and three-quarters?" Elladora's father, Demetrius Weatherwax, asked rather loudly. He lowered his voice when his speech continued, eyeing the few muggles who were frowning his way, "Well, I'd be happy to show you. It can be a bit confusing the first time around."

And so the Sweedings followed the very determined Weatherwax family through the crowd of people rushing around for work. Rosie found herself glancing around anxiously as they marched, hoping to see some sign of something seemingly misplaced as the Leaky Cauldron had been in London. Rosie discovered no such thing, however, and frowned with confusion when Demetrius stopped them in front of a brick wall.

"Now, your first time it's always good to take a running start-"

"I'm sorry, what?" D.J. interrupted, his voice flat, "And smack into the wall? That's absolutely ridiculous. Though, Rose, why don't you go first? It would give us all a laugh."

Ms. Sweeding scolded D.J. quickly, though Demetrius grinned, gesturing Rosie forward. "What a great idea! You and my daughter can go first and lead the way."

"What? I-"

Rosie's protests were interrupted by Elladora pulling her forward enthusiastically as Elladora eyed the door with a certain resolution. Demetrius stuck out a hand, pointing to the wall, "Now, you're going to go straight through there and it'll land you where you need to be. Don't move too far, though, wait for us to come after you."

Rosie wanted to ask more questions, not anywhere near comfortable with what she was being asked to do. Before she could think too hard about it, though, Elladora was yanking her forward and straight into the brick wall. Rosie shut her eyes tight, preparing herself for hard contact that never came. She didn't open her eyes till she came to realize she'd been holding her breath.

What she saw amazed her just as her first look at Diagon Alley did. There were still a large crowd of people, though many of them were dressed in attire that would never have fit in with the place they'd just been in. Many were wearing the robes that Rosie and Elladora had purchased from Madam Malkin's, some of them bearing crests on their chest symbolizing those on the seal of the letter Rosie had gotten what seemed to be so long ago. Plenty of people had trunks and Rosie saw quite a few owls just like Speaks.

Rosie's observing was interrupted by others coming through the wall, and Rosie saw briefly the way the image warped when someone crossed the barrier. After a few minutes, everyone had came through, the twins looking especially excited as they chanted 'magic' over and over again.

"That over there is the Hogwarts Express." Demetrius announced, gesturing to the huge train to their side, "That will be your ride to school."

Rosie wasn't sure if she could possibly feel any more astonished, her heart practically pounding out of her chest as her mind raced miles a minute with fantasies about what was to come once she stepped foot on the train. Her daydreaming was ceased once again, however, when she could hear small, quiet sobs.

Rosie turned to see her mother's cheeks wet with tears, her dark brown eyes reddening. "Mom, what's wrong?" Rosie asked, her eyebrows furrowing with worry.

Her mother's hands settled on her cheeks, Ms. Sweeding studied her daughter's features, once again filled with the dread of the realization that her baby was leaving. "Your father would have been so proud of you." her mother whispered. Rosie wished her mother hadn't said it, the very mention of her father set Rosie easily to the brink of tears. "He always thought you were special- knew it."

"Momma, please," Rosie pleaded, though she was smiling, "Not here, I can't cry on my first day."

"Right, right. Of course." Rosie's mother said, pulling Rosie into an embrace, "I'm just going to miss you, is all. I'm getting sentimental already." Rosie could feel her younger siblings joining in, judging by the sudden tight grip she felt on her legs.

"Sissy!" Ryley called, pulling at the trim of her skirt, "You write to us!"

"Everyday." Rosie assured, no longer able to hold back her tears.

"Sends us more cand-ee and shows us pictures." Declan added, his tiny voice hard to hear through his slight hyperventilation.

Rosie's grandmother pulled Rosie down in order to kiss the top of her grandmother's head, "You be sure to have fun there, alright? And let us know if they aren't feedin' you properly!" Rosie giggled, nodding and assuring the woman she would.

After a few more minutes of repetitive goodbyes, Rosie stepped away from her family. The only member left was D.J. and she felt the familiar sense of guilt rise into her chest when she looked at him. They were silent for a few, long awkward seconds, neither certain what to do. Suddenly, D.J.'s arms were around her and Rosie gratefully returned the gesture, happy to accept.

"I thought you might hate me now." Rosie mumbled so only D.J. could here.

"I don't hate you. " he assured, patting his sister's head gently, "But if you're in that cool magic school, you better be working your arse off. Cherish it."

Rosie nodded, crying more than ever as she pulled away from her older brother. "I love you all." she told her family.

"We love you too!" They chimed together unevenly and Rosie had to take a second to study the faces of her loved one's before she could turn around, knowing she'd be leaving them behind for a while. She took comfort in hearing Demetrius tell them that he would help them back to Kings' Cross as Elladora took her arm and the two witches set off for adventure.

* * *

The train was packed with students, most already filling many of the spots on the train. Rosie could hear students shouting out the windows to their parents, some shoving each other out of the way so they could get a better view. It was a bit of a zoo within, Rosie and Elladora struggling to stay together through the crowds of kids that refused to part from each other.

"Maybe this cart?" Rosie suggested, gesturing to one that wasn't quite as chaotic. Only one boy had settled into it, Rosie recognized the messy hair and green eyes from Diagon Alley.

"We can't sit next to him!" Elladora snapped, continuing to pull the other girl, "He's famous."

"He's just a boy-"

"Famous!"

"Do you ladies need any help over here?" a male voice cut in, causing Rosie to turn. The boy had ginger hair, freckles, and facial features very similar to the twins they had met in Diagon Alley, though he appeared much more stern and adorned a shining pin on his robes with a bold letter 'P' over a dark red background.

"We're just searching for a compartment." Rosie explained, not wanting to bother the obviously busy boy any further. Elladora, however, seemed not to notice the boy and had already started to turn so they could head off further into the train.

"Well, last I checked there were quite a few empty compartments in the very back." The boy offered helpfully, gesturing in the direction he was referring to, "You should be able to snag a spot there."

Rosie smiled and nodded, thanking the boy for his help as she moved to catch up with Elladora. Rosie informed the girl of the boy's instruction, and the two moved together to the back of the train, eventually finding an empty compartment to settle into. Together they helped each other to lug their trunks into position and setting Cocoa's tank and Speak's cage aside so they could finally slump into their seats. The two took breaths of relief as they adjusted to their surroundings, seeming to come to the realization that this was actually happening at the same time as both broke into laughter.

The moment of peace didn't last long. The compartment door was shoved open to reveal the symmetrical grinning faces of the twins. "Thought we'd drop by to give you a visit." they chimed together.

"It's nice to see you two again!" Rosie said.

Elladora nodded in agreement, propping herself on her knees to get a better look over the twins shoulder. "What's with the box?" she asked, regarding the medium-sized one Lee was carrying behind them, a wide grin on his face.

"Lee thought up the brilliant idea to bring a giant tarantula onto the express." George explained, "Show them!"

Elladora backed up slightly, while Rosie scooted forward, excitement rising. The tarantula within was quite large, Rosie wondered if magic had something to do with its slightly unreasonable size. However, she hardly hesitated as she reached out a calm hand to allow the eight-legged creature to crawl onto her.

"So, you're afraid of quidditch, but not a giant spider?" asked Fred as he settled on the seat beside Rosie, George sitting across with Elladora who was very adamant on keeping her distance from the tarantula. Lee remained close to Rosie, box held out in her direction. He seemed quite fearful she would freak any second.

"My brother D.J. always was bringing home whatever he could find in the wild when I was growing up." Rosie explained while she studied the spider, moving her face a bit closer, "Tarantulas were always one of my favourites, other than the rabbits."

"Tarantulas and rabbits." George said with a laugh, "Bit of an odd combination."

"I saw Percy the prefect talking to you two, what did our git of a brother have to say?" Fred asked.

"That ginger dork is your brother?" Elladora teased, "Never mind, I see the resemblance."

"Careful firstie. Percy may be a dork but you don't have the authority to say it." Lee warned, though he was obviously amused by the comment.

"What is a prefect?" Rosie asked curiously, remembering the pin she'd seen on their brother's robe.

"It's for the Hogwarts students who hate having any sort of fun." George said.

"They're given extra responsibilities." Fred broke down for her, earning him a thankful look from Rosie, "Regulating student behaviours and all. So, yeah, George is right. Basically they're boring."

Elladora laughed at this, but Rosie found herself thinking on the subject further. A prefect seemed to be an honoured role. Academically, she was certain the title must look good for the future, though she realized she really didn't know much about the educational system of Hogwarts or how things transferred into jobs in the magical world. She pushed the thoughts away, there was no reason to stress herself out over it now.

"Well, we better get going. The best seats are only open so long." Lee cut in, holding out the box to Rosie to return the tarantula. Rosie took a second to adjust herself, letting the spider crawl carefully back into the box.

"Be careful with him." Rosie said seriously, "Don't let someone step on him."

"Yes ma'am." Lee agreed with an amused grin, starting out of the compartment.

Fred and George stopped before they exited, looking back at the two girls. "By the way, make sure you don't try to leave the train." George warned.

Before Rosie could ask why on earth they'd ever want to do that, Fred finished, "The trolley witch isn't fond of students who try. She still gives us dirty looks."

The twins left without a word more on the subject and was happy to see Elladora's entertainment at the words, obviously taking what they'd said as a joke.

* * *

For a while, a pleasant silence had settled between the two young girls. Both were content to look out the window and admire the beautiful, natural surroundings the train passed through. Rosie let out a tiny gasp every so often when something especially breathtaking could be seen and Elladora let her amazement be shown through shouts, pointing out whatever thing was so wonderful.

"So, you've got quite a big family." Elladora noted as she turned from the window to Rosie, finally boring of watching out it.

"Huh?" Rosie mumbled, still quite absorbed in the outside world before managing to pull her eyes away, "Yeah, we weren't always like that. We were just a family of four for a while. My parents, D.J., and I."

"Did your father not come to see you off?" Elladora asked, sounding concerned.

"Oh, no." Rosie said, shaking her head, "He passed away in an accident three years ago, a little later than a year after the twins were born. That's when my grandma moved in with us to help around the house."

"Oh, sorry." Elladora apologized, shuffling her feet on the ground awkwardly.

"Don't worry about it, you couldn't have known." Rosie assured, though she was quick to move from the subject of her father. She still wasn't sure she'd be able to talk about him for more than a few moments, "Your dad is a healer, you said, right? So he's always been apart of the magical world."

Elladora nodded, "He was a pureblood. He brought my mother into the magical world when he fell in love with her. Mom's still a bit confused about it all, but she does her best to understand the best she can."

"What's it like to grow up knowing about magic?"

"It's hard to explain. What was it like to grow up without it?"

Rosie nodded once, not answering. It was quite hard to try and convey something you'd known your whole life. "So, you know quite a bit about Hogwarts from your dad?" Elladora nodded. "What exactly are the 'houses' the blonde boy mentioned in Malkin's?"

"Well, there's Slytherin, which my dad was in. They have a sort of reputation for all being racist gits like the kid in the shop, but they're not like that- not all of them, anyway. They're ambitious," Elladora explained, "And cunning, they'll use any means to achieve their ends. But that's not always a bad thing, my dad used those traits to improve himself in the medical field and help others."

"Gryffindor, like the twins. They value bravery, pride, and justice. They're the heroes in the world, and most of them want to make sure everyone knows it. Typically they're quite loud about it- or just loud in general." Elladora grinned, obviously entertained by her wording, "A lot of this I'm repeating from my father, however, and Slytherin and Gryffindor have always been known to have a bias against each other.

"Then there's Ravenclaw. Scholars come from there, mostly, a lot of professors were in that house during their time, like Quirrell. They're creative, witty, individualists- my dad usually just calls them the 'smart house'."

"Last is Hufflepuff, dad says they have the best hearts and the worst reputation. They're loyal, patient, and kind- which is probably why they're always getting walked all over by the other houses. None of them seem to want to bother themselves with protesting against it. I think they're fine just being who they are."

Rosie felt a bit dizzy after the elaborations. All of the houses sounded perfectly nice, but she couldn't help but feel like she didn't harbour any of the noble traits that Elladora had described. She couldn't keep her imagination from running off a bit as she briefly imagined them telling her that she couldn't be sorted at all and that she'd have to be sent home.

"Has anyone ever… not been sorted before?" Rosie asked the other girl timidly, shifting in her seat uncomfortably as she spoke.

"No way." Elladora assured, "Everyone has a place at Hogwarts. Everyone gets sorted. They'll put you right where you belong, I'm sure of it."

Rosie once again felt warmed by the enthusiasm that Elladora displayed, thankful to have someone like Elladora in her life. She took in the other's words, repeating them over and over again in her head till she had managed to relax herself.

It was a little after noon when a sereneness that had fallen over the Express was cut through by a clamoring from the students on the train. Something had happened to cause an excitement. Rosie and Elladora shared looks before the door to their compartment was pushed back, revealing a friendly looking woman. "Would you dears like something off the cart?"

Rosie looked lost, turning back to Elladora for guidance. Elladora perked up, pulling some silver pieces from her pocket, "Can I get some Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's for my friend and I, please?"

Elladora divided what she had purchased between Rosie and herself. Rosie thanked the girl before picking up one of the Chocolate Frog packages and looking over it curiously. "What is this?"

"A Chocolate Frog! Only one of the best sweets of the wizard world." Elladora gushed, "Pure chocolatey goodness, just don't let it jump away."

Rosie couldn't tell if Elladora was being serious, but her curiosity overruled her hesitance as she opened the container carefully. The packaging was beautiful: a deep purple with gold swirls to accent it, and inside it contained chocolate perfectly carved into the shape of a frog. It reminded her of what her mom used to say when her grandmother would make gorgeous cakes for one of their birthdays: 'so beautiful I'm not sure I want to eat it'.

"Go on, Rosie, try it." Elladora encouraged, already opening her second.

Slowly, Rosie took a bite. The Chocolate Frog tasted perfectly sweet, an audible noise of happiness came out of her when it melted on her tongue. "That's incredible." she enthused, before looking back into the box. A card laid on the bottom, and for a moment, she could swear that it was moving.

"Oh, your card. They provide one in every box, to collect, you know." Elladora said suddenly, "Any chance you've got Bertie Bott? I've been looking for one forever."

"Is it moving?" Rosie asked slowly, looking at the image on the card suspiciously.

"Oh yes, Mum always found that weird too." Elladora recalled, "The pictures in the Wizard World are all like that."

"Huh…" Rosie muttered, finally picking up the card. A woman in a beautiful dress, posing with her hands in her lap met eyes with Rosie. She had dark hair and a kind smile. Under the image of her was the name Helga Hufflepuff in a lovely font.

"Hufflepuff!" she exclaimed aloud, "Wasn't that one of the houses you mentioned?"

Elladora was picking through one of the Bertie Bott's boxes, making faces at each one she brought out, "Oh yes, she's one of the four founders of Hogwarts who gave her name to the house. She was incredibly kind and charming they say. Rumor is, she didn't want house division."

Rosie looked over the card, turning it and seeing a description written in small print: _Loyal and charming, Helga Hufflepuff was the founder of Hufflepuff house at Hogwarts. She was particularly famous for her dexterity at food-related charms._

Rosie smiled to herself, slipping the card back into the the empty box and folding it carefully. Elladora had mentioned that they were collectibles, she could keep the ones she got in the box for safe keeping.

"Ugh!" Elladora made a sudden, disgusted noise and spit one of the beans from the Bertie Bott box on the ground, "Pepper!"

"Pepper?" Rosie repeated, sounding astonished, "Aren't those like jellybeans? Why would they make such an awful flavor?"

"That's the risk." Elladora said with a casual shrug, face still twisted in disgust from the flavor, "It's either really good or awful. Want to try one?"

"I think I'm good, thank you." Rosie said, looking a bit frightened. Elladora chuckled at the look on her face, returning to inspecting each bean one by one.

There was a sudden knock at the door, followed by it sliding open. On the other side, there was a messy haired, teary eyed boy who Rosie assumed was the same age as she and Elladora. The two girls looked onto the boy with concern.

"Sorry to bother, but- have- have you seen-" Rosie couldn't quite make out what the boy was saying, his voice was cracking and his breath was heaving.

Behind him, another girl with long, bushy hair and a young but serious face stuck her head in, "He's looking for his toad." she explained, "It's gone missing."

"Oh, that's awful." Rosie said, thinking how worried she'd be if Speaks had gone missing. Out of nerves, she quickly peeked under the blanket that covered his cage, relieved to find the owl sleeping without a care in the world.

"We'll help you find it." Elladora suggested, obviously thinking the same thing as Rosie when she glanced back at the tank beside her containing Cocoa. "I'll go with you." she said to the girl, "Rosie, you go with him. We can cover more ground if we split up."

It seemed as soon as Ellie had said it, she and the bushy haired girl were gone, leaving the crying boy and Rosie alone together. "We'll find your toad." Rosie said soothingly, standing from her spot, "What's his name?"

"Trevor." the boy croaked, "And I'm Neville. Thank you."

"It's no problem, Neville." Rosie assured, starting out of the compartment with the boy, "I'm Rosie, by the way."

The two didn't speak between themselves much more for a while, only peeked into other compartments and looked around the floor in the hopes of seeing the toad. When the silence had become to solemn, Rosie spoke again.

"So, are you a first year?" Rosie asked.

Neville nodded, "I'm so nervous." he murmured, "I can't be in Gryffindor or Slytherin or Ravenclaw… Maybe they'll let me into Hufflepuff, it seems nice there."

"I'm just hoping I get into a house." Rosie said, nodding along with the boy's worries. It was nice to speak to someone as concerned as she was. She set her hand on another door to a compartment, "We haven't checked here, hopefully-"

"N-no!" Neville said quickly, "Malfoy is in there, and he's mean. He'll only say something nasty to us if we ask."

Rosie admitted that it made her feel nervous, but she was determined to help find the toad. "Well, you can stay back here." she assured gently, "I'll just quickly go in and ask, you don't have to face-"

Rosie was interrupted by the door of the compartment sliding open, a tuft of white blonde hair was the first thing she saw and she met eyes with a smirking boy. The same one from the dress shop. On either side of him, there were two other, mean looking boys. One was quite tall and thin, the other short and a bit more wide, they shared the boy's smirk.

"What are you looking at? You're the mudblood from the-"

"Hey!" Neville said quickly, Rosie looked back over at the boy, surprised by the confidence in his voice, "She- she's with me."

"Because that makes it better." the boy said in a bored tone.

"We're looking for Neville's toad, Trevor, have you seen him?" Rosie asked quickly, hoping to avoid a confrontation.

"No, and if I had, I wouldn't tell you." the boy spat out, shoving past the two of them. The mean looking boys following after and snickering.

"I'm sorry he said that to you." Neville said once the boys were out of sight, "You were only helping me."

"It's fine." Rosie assured the boy, she hadn't even known what the word meant, but she figured it wasn't the best time to be asking such a question. "I appreciate you defending me, though. That was very brave."

"Oh, no.." Neville said quickly, looking a bit embarrassed, "I'm not brave."

Rosie almost made a move to disagree, but Elladora popped out, "Rosie! I got to catch a glance of the Chosen One! The actual Harry Potter."

Rosie smiled when Elladora grabbed her arms in excitement, "That's fantastic, Ellie."

Elladora went onto a ramble almost immediately, recounting her run in with the Chosen One. Rosie couldn't make out much, the girl was talking so fast. Rosie and Neville met eyes for a moment, she could tell he was beginning to lose hope over the toad.

"Ellie," Rosie said once the other girl had finished talking, "Is there any chance that you found Neville's toad?"

"Oh! Yes! Well, not me. A man named Hagrid did."

Neville sighed in relief, "Thank Merlin, and thank you two for helping." he said quickly, before rushing off to go find the man.

Elladora grinned, "Well, the day is saved." she said, rubbing her hands together, "We should go get changed into our robes, Hogwarts is right down the line."

Rosie returned the girl's smile, excitement returning.

As the two rushed back to their compartment, removing their sweaters and extra layers in replacement for their robes, a voice came on over the intercom informing them that they'd arrive at Hogwarts in just a few minutes. Luggage, however, had to stay on the train so Rosie and Elladora said bye to Cocoa and Speaks before heading off.

When stuck in a large crowd of people off of the train, Rosie suddenly felt terrified again. She saw a freckled, red head boy standing next to the chosen one who looked like he was about to be sick. She noticed that it wasn't just him, many people in the group were showing signs of nervousness. Shuffling feet, messing with their hair, fidgeting hands- even Ellie seemed to be a little on edge.

A large, friendly looking man called first years over and as Rosie and Elladora made their way over at the back of the group, they both caught glance of the twins and Lee, who gave thumbs up of encouragement before heading over the opposite way. Ellie and Rosie both seemed to relax a bit, the two sharing small smiles.

"Wow, that lake is huge.." Rosie said aloud, admiring the vast, black water. She could see in the distance, a large castle on top of a mountain, illuminated by the stars in the sky.

Being the last to arrive, Rosie and Elladora got in the last boat left before the one that the large man had all to himself. The man smiled at the girls, a sweet smile that made them both feel comforted. No one said any words as the boats crossed the lake, too busy viewing the castle with anxiety and excitement swirling.


End file.
